Guild Wars 2

Carl.4890:

This is a question to any representative; what is your policy on copyrighted character names? I had heard a long time ago that some people got banned for using these types of names but I’m not sure if that was because they were offensive or what.

I would like to use a character that has a popular band name. Is this acceptable in your policy so long as I don’t “pretend to be them or represent them in any way”?

Thanks.

No one would be banned for using an unacceptable name in this sort of situation. Bans are forever; suspensions are temporary. People involved in using disallowed names are required to rename the character(s). It’s remotely possible they will serve a brief time-out. But we almost never ban (terminate an account) for the first instance of a Naming Policy violation.

Since a band is not an individual person, it would be less risky a name than choosing, say, Taylor Swift. However, if the band name is copyright — and many are — I recommend you not use it. You could use a variation, like “REM Fan” or something.